Ceiling-plate



(NoModel.)

W. H. STOGKHAM.

CEILING PLATE. No. 456,682. Patented July 28, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ILLIAM H. STOCKHAM, OF EVANSTON, ASSIGNOR TO THE ILLINOIS MALLE- AB'LE IRON COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CEILING-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,682, dated July 28, 1891.

Applicaton led September 13, 1890. Serial No. 364,899- (No Inodel) To all wiz/om it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. STOCK- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, in the county of Cook and State ot Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ceiling-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to au improvement in the class of devices provided to surround Io pipes where they are passed through openings in ceilings and the like and serve to hide the openings, besides affording ornamentation;

and it relates particularly to the form of ceiling-plate composed of two semi-annular separable sections.

The objects of my improvement are to provide a construction of the sectional variety of ceiling-plate which shall enable the sections to be readily separated at two adjacent 2o ends to permit adjustment of the plate upon or its withdrawal from the pipe it is designed t-o surround, while remaining connected by a hinge-joint at the opposite ends, to form the parts to be readily and securely held together 2 5 independently ot the pipe to which the plate is applied, and to provide a generally-improved construction of sectional ceiling-plate.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view showing the two semi-annular 3o parts adjusted together to forni the ceilingplate and regarded from its upper side when in position on a ceiling'. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the two parts separated and regarded from the side opposite that presented in Fig. l. Fig. is a View in elevation ot' one of the two semi-annular sections.

A is the ceiling-plate, formed in two semiannular separable sections B and C. The ssctions have their under portions (with ref- 4o erence to the position ot the plate when adj usted on a ceiling) formed of semi-annular vertical flanges fr and q, from which the base portions p flare in an upward direction, leaving internal shoulders :t at the junctions of the bases and the flanges. One of the sections is provided in an end of its base portion y) with a circular recess o, forming a seat n, having a perforation n', and one end of the other section is extended at its base p into a 5o lip m, adapted to tit the recess o, and provided on its inner side with a stud m to enter the perforation n and afford a pivotal connection between the two sections and adapt them to be readilj7 spread apart and brought together at their opposite ends for adjustment upon or withdrawal from a pipe. One oi th e said sections, as the section C, is provided near the end ofY its flange q, opposite the end of the section having the perforated seat n, with a perforation Z, which is plain or unprovided 5o with an internal thread and receives a setscrewk, having its bearing in a lip ii, provided with a threaded opening for the set-screw and extending from the adjoining end ot' the flange of the other section to overlap the 6 5 flange containing the perforation Z and cause the last-named opening to coincide with that on the lip, thereby to permit the set-screw to be passed through both and secure the sections against separation on their hinge or 7o pivotal connection. j

From the one of the sections provided with the stud m', as the section B, and from the end thereof provided with the lip m, extends a tongue or stop 7b from the shoulder a; of that 75 section. To adjust the ntwo sections together the stud m on the one is inserted into the hole n in the other, thereby producing a pivotal junction between them, and by moving them toward each other on the pivot the 8o tongue 7L is brought against the shoulder of the adjacent section, and the lip i is caused to overlap the tia-nge q, when the set-screw is passed through the opening l from the lip i and secures the two sections together. It is thus that the ceiling-plate A is adjusted to surround a pipe, and when so adjusted, by' turningthe screw 1 to force it inward, it bears against the surface of the pipe and thereby serves to tighten and hold the ceiling-plate in 9o place. To remove the ceiling plate requires only that the screw 7i: be turned to withdraw it from the opening but not from the lip fl, which retains the screw and prevents liability of its becoming lost. This construction avoids the necessity of threading the opening Z, and thus reduces the cost of manufacture.

ihe provision of the tongue 7i on one section affords a support for the other section and enables the ceiling-plate to be heldin roo only one hand at either section without producing separation at the pivotal joint, thereby materially enhancing the convenience of handling the article.

Obviously the same advantage is attained Whether both the seat a and lip m extend be- 5 yond the bases of their respective sections, as

shown, or either one of them only so extends. Hence-I desire to be understood as including either construction as Within my invention.

Vhat l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A ceiling-plate formed in semi-annular sections B and C, each having a flange q 7', a base p, and a shoulder fr, the said sections being pivotally connected at one end and movable on their pivotal connection to separate and bring together the sections at the opposite end, and a tongue h, extending from one section to engage the shoulder a: on the other section, substantially as described.

2. A ceiling-plate A, formed in two semiannular sections B and C, each having aflange and a base 1.) and an intermediate shoulder a recess o and a perforated seat n in the base of one section, a lip m, extending from the base of the other section and provided with a stud m to enter the perforated seatn, a tongue 7L, extending from a shoulder an opening Z in the end of the flange q opposite the said pivotal connection, a lip z', extending from the flange r, and a set-screw 7o in the lip 1'., the Whole being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM u. sTooKHAM.

In presen ce of- C. N. WHITE, M. J. FROST. 

